Wondrous Weavers of Wisdom
Story of the Core Letter: Step Onto Campus, Step Out Into The World
From President von Arx
Dear “Incoming Student,”
Why does all of this matter? You may be wondering why you have to take so many courses in the core curriculum. Many students don’t see the value of all that until years after graduating.
In part, there’s the skills you acquire by writing a lot, analyzing, synthesizing. But it’s about more than just skills for work. After all, the whole point is to answer for yourself: who are you and where are you going?
One student Jerry Garcia (’05) came here knowing he was choosing a Jesuit school. Why? “Because it’s holistic,” he had heard. What does that mean? No really, it’s about the education of the whole person. Not just about professional training, it’s about becoming well-rounded, reflective “men and women for others.” Meaning you learn how amazing it feels to help others and not just yourself. That’s the Jesuit model that makes what you’re doing here distinctive.
You may ask, “Fine, what do I have to take?” Maybe it’ll help to first think what was attractive to you initially about coming here. What are your dreams, passions, things you care about? What do you wonder about?
You may feel clueless about what your choices are.
Many students have loved internships, service learning, study abroad, and intramural athletics.
Others (like those pictured above) have enjoyed applying learning to life outside class.
We’re also just an hour from NYC where you can really bite into the core. When you step out of the Metro North train at Grand Central, you’ve got internships and cultural experience galore.
Also, rather than just do it, and have an experience, you really make sense of it all. You’ll really get something out of those experiences, more so than just doing things in automatic.
Students also come here because they want the conversations outside of classes, the relationships you build with others, especially a small campus.
Why is so much required? To push you out of your comfort zone. Whether you know what you want to do or have no idea, the core exposes you to (groovy) stuff you otherwise may ignore.
The core is what connects all these aspects. It’s your window onto the world, and onto the soul.
We hope this will help you envision all the possibilities and make the most of your time here.
Your friend,
Jeff